Why Podcast?

posted by David Wolf on Nov 10, 2007 | Comments (4) | Permalink | Trackback URL

So what is a podcast?

The word podcast comes form combining the word “I-Pod” with the word, “webcast”. The “i-pod” is the Apple product-a portable media device that plays audio or video. The word, webcast is a transmutation of “broadcasting” for the internet, and takes on a similar meaning as would be the case when discussing radio or tv broadcasting in the traditional sense.

The mere fact that audio and video content can now be created by individuals and distributed via the internet has created a whole new world of possibilities for many more people than was the case when radio reached critical mass in the 1920’s, and television in 1950’s. Historically, creating and broadcasting audio or video content was extremely capital-intensive, and reserved only for large companies such as NBC, CBS or ABC. Accordingly, only large companies could participate in producing or sponsoring such activities, therefore creating a corporate-centric media environment. The corporation the producer, the individual the consumer.

At the time radio and then television were deployed, they were truly amazing innovations. For the first time, sports, music, news, entertainment of all kinds and world events could be shared by millions in realtime, right in their own homes. This was an extraordinary development, and provided a mode of connectivity never before experienced on the planet!

Fast forward to the present. The technology of the internet and the evolution and resulting miniaturization of audio and video recording equipment has made media creation possible for many many more people than ever before. Enter, the individual as producer. Additionally, the segmentation of the media and its audiences has made the targeting of and distribution to very specific populations possible. Now we can match content to its audience more precisely and much more efficient than ever before. Enter, the individual as pro-consumer. The individual is now both the producer and consumer of media, creating an environment of democratized media.

So why would a business person want to podcast?

For the entrepreneur and small business person, the convergence of all of these developments has unpacked an extraordinary opportunity. It is now possible to webcast or podcast your message to your target audience just as CBS, NBC and ABC all did during the golden era of broadcasting, and continue to do in the current age. This means any small business person can now create content, build a brand, connect with a marketplace, disseminate information, create programming and then distributed it to a targeted list of individuals to generate interest, relationships and ultimately sales. Its affordable, and accessible in a way like never before.

With audio podcasting comes a level of intimacy like that achieved in radio broadcasting. Essentially a one on one “relationship” is created between podcaster and the individual listener. This is one of the powers of podcasting. Another power is the realism. Its your voice, being you. If you choose an interview format, say with a client or customer, that person tells a story, the experience of working with you. This is “truthful” PR, not “paid for” advertising, and therefore, a highly credible path to brand and relationship building.

To create a podcast series takes some time, energy and thought. In creating the Smallbiz America PodSuite, I set out to take the technical and production piece out of the equation so you, the producer, can focus on your content and your audience. In the end, you must consistently deliver value to your audience, or your podcast will become meaningless.

Once the podcast is created, how do listeners find it?

This is a question we hear alot and for good reason. Without a viable distribution model, the content will not be heard by anyone. The answer is, well, several-fold. With the PodSuite model, we participate in the distribution in a few ways.

First, we post all podcasts on our website and inside the host “microsite” area. This helps leverage our general traffic and search engine traffic into listeners. They will live in these places for as long as we exist. And within these places, your podcasts are search able by author, subject, categories and other attributes.

Secondly, we submit our host podcasts to the i-tunes store, along with an RSS feed. RSS [really simple syndication] is a distribution platform that enables listeners to subscribe to your entire series of shows, rather than grab them one by one. More on this in a later blog post. The point is that it is a “push” distribution mechanism that is created so your audience automatically receives the latest episodes from your podcast series.

Next, you can directly link your visitors to your podcast feed or episode from your website or email newsletter with a graphic that we provide to you.

Finally, we promote our podcast hosts shows on our 24/7 Smallbiz America Online Radio Channel, now heard in more than 80 countries and across the USA.

How can a podcast generate revenue?

While some podcasters charge for downloads, the most successful way to generate income directly from a podcast is by offering sponsorships to them.For such sponsorship agreements, a commercial message can be easily inserted as a “pre-roll” [before the content] or a “post-roll” [after the content]. It should be noted that commericals inserted like this effectively travel with the episodes they are in, creating a very long tail effect. In other words, they will “live” in perpetuity with the podcast itself, download after download. And, as is the case with much online media, the messages are very well targeted. For these reasons, sponsoring a podcast can be quite effective and should command a fee accordingly. Smallbiz America offers production and insertion services for commericals to be inserted into its hosts podcasts on a revenue-share basis. for further details, please contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Please check out our website podcasts from our show hosts to discover how they are building their businesses with this exciting new podcast medium. Also, visit sites [podcast directories] such as http://www.podcast.net/ to search for more examples from other sources to get a feel for this podcast universe and to formulate some ideas about how you might create your own show.

FILED IN: Advertising, Branding, Communication, Entrepreneurship, Networking, New Thinking, Marketing, Podcast, Sales